


Nargles and Nibbles

by Gemfae



Series: Gemfae's HD_Owlpost Contributions [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Smut, Light Angst, Light Bondage, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Misunderstandings, POV Alternating, POV Draco Malfoy, POV Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-04 17:44:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12776154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemfae/pseuds/Gemfae
Summary: Five years after the war, Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter open a café/book shop, called Nargles and Nibbles. Across the street, another café, called Dueling Dragons, is opening at the same time, and who should the owner be, except Harry's rival-turned-lover, Draco Malfoy. The two have been together mostly happily for two years, but now Draco's parents are pressuring him to get married and produce an heir. Can Draco find a way to balance his happiness and his duty to his family? Or will his family obligations take away the one true happiness he has ever known?





	Nargles and Nibbles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [digthewriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/digthewriter/gifts).



> For digthewriter: I wanted to write you a coffee shop story, with angst and fluff, but the fic managed to get away from me. The last part of the story wasn't even planned, but it jumped in at the eleventh hour. I hope you enjoy it!

Thursday, 12/18

 

“…and done!” Luna beamed, tucking her wand behind her ear. “What do you think, Harry?”

Harry looked around carefully before responding with a nod and a smile.

“It’s brilliant, Luna,” he said, “I’ll bet no one else has a shop like this one.” 

It was five years after the war, and Harry and Luna were standing in the middle of their new shop, Nargles and Nibbles. The shop was a book store/café combination, with the café at the back of the shop. Seating areas were scattered amongst the bookshelves, and a book exchange counter was in the middle of the shop; the book exchange would allow customers to bring in books they no longer needed and trade them in for money or store credit. Harry thought this would be especially helpful for students, as they could return their previous years school for credit towards new texts. In amongst the regular book offerings, were several more unusual books, all ordered by Luna, plus back copies of the Quibbler. The café area at the back of the shop had several small tables and a few couches. Harry and Luna would have a regular menu of tea, coffee, sandwiches and pastries, along with a rotating menu of unique food options.

The shop was set to open the following morning, and Harry was relieved that they had gotten everything set up in time. For the first week, they had decided to be open from ten in the morning to nine at night; they would both work Friday through Sunday; Luna would be off on Monday and Tuesday, and Harry would be off Wednesday and Thursday. Mrs. Weasley had insisted on providing the baked goods and cooking supper (she said she needed something to keep her busy, now that she had no more children at home), and Ginny agreed to help her when she didn’t have Quidditch practice. Rolf Scamander, Luna’s fiancé, agreed to help with stocking the shelves and running the register three days a week, and Lavender Brown had also offered to help out three days a week. Mrs. Weasley refused to be put on the payroll, but agreed to accept a portion of the sales from her food, and Rolf was also working for free, since his fiancé was co-owner. This meant that only Ginny and Lavender were getting paid, and Harry thought that they really shouldn’t need any more help than that at the moment. Hermione and Ron were currently in France with her parents and not set to return until Christmas Eve; they had both offered to help when Harry re-opened the shop the day after Christmas though.

Harry shook himself out of his thoughts, and grabbed a stack of brightly-colored flyers from the counter; the flyers announced the Grand Opening of the shop, and also had a coupon for 25% off a book purchase, and a free dessert or drink.

“I’m going to see about handing out a few of these,” he told Luna, “You going to hang out here, or go home?”

“I think I’m done here,” Luna said thoughtfully, conjuring a brilliantly colored dream catcher and sticking it above the window in the front of the store, then adding a sprig of mistletoe. “Rolf was with his grandfather today, and promised to bring me home a surprise. Mind the Nargles.”

“Right,” Harry agreed, “I’ll see you in the morning then; I plan to be here at eight to get everything set up, but you can come in a bit later if you want.”

“Good night, Harry,” Luna said by way of reply, “Oh, and watch out for the dragon; some dragons eat nargles.” Luna apparated before Harry could reply, and he decided to ignore the odd warning; he loved Luna, but she still said the oddest things, sometimes.

Flyers in hand, Harry stepped out, locking the shop behind him, and took a moment to look up and down the alley his shop was located on. Mystic Alley was a new offshoot of Diagon Alley, and several of the store fronts were still empty. He knew that there was a new clothing store, a bakery, a Muggle novelty shop, and a few restaurants. Rolf had bought out the shop next to Nargles and Nibbles, and would eventually be opening as a clinic for injured magical creatures; Rolf wanted to wait until Harry and Luna’s shop was going before focusing on his own business. 

The shop that most interested Harry, however, was the one directly across from his own. This was another café, named Dueling Dragons, and could cut into Harry and Luna’s client base. Harry had tried to find out what type of café it was going to be, but the windows were blocked by an obscuring charm, and Harry had yet to see the owner. Dueling Dragons was set to open the day after Nargles and Nibbles, so Harry resigned himself to waiting until his competitor opened, and then slipping inside to check out the offerings.

Checking once more to make sure the shop was secured, Harry began walking down Mystic Alley until he reached the section where it joined Diagon Alley. Stepping into the crowd of people-it was the day after Hogwarts had let out for the Christmas Holidays-Harry put on a bright smile and began handing out the flyers.

That night, Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place to find that someone was already occupying his favorite chair in front of the fire.

“You’re late,” came the accusation, “I almost told Kreacher to serve supper without you. I could have been at the Manor for supper tonight; Mother invited the Greengrass’s over.” Draco Malfoy stood up and face him, his pale face showing annoyance.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go,” Harry replied, “Not like you’re under any obligation to have supper with me. You can go now if you like; I’m sure you can catch them having coffee.”

“I don’t break my plans unless I have a very good reason,” Draco said, “You know this, Potter. Besides, I have something more interesting than coffee in mind for after supper.” Draco smirked at him, and Harry rolled his eyes.

“Awfully cocky,” Harry returned, “Maybe I want to go straight to bed after supper.”

“Ah, so you do have the same idea as me,” Draco’s smirk widened, “Well, before we can get to after supper, we need to first have supper. Kreacher kept it ready.” Draco crossed the drawing room to join him, and they walked to the dining room side-by-side.

Supper was uneventful, the talk mostly centering on the grand opening of Nargles and Nibbles the following day. After the meal, however, when they were in Harry’s bedroom-Harry’s, because Draco technically still lived at Malfoy Manor-Harry had to bring up Draco’s news from earlier.

“So,” he said, in what he hoped was a causal manner, “The Greengrass’s? Is your mother planning for Astoria or Daphne?”

“Daphne met some French wizard over the summer,” Draco replied, “They’ll be married by June, I’m sure.”

“So, Astoria then,” Harry nodded, unbuttoning his shirt, “I can’t imagine you’ll be able to avoid her for too long. I’m guessing, since Daphne probably has this June, you’ll be married by the following summer?” 

Harry frowned, noticing his that his hands were trembling, and he was glad that he wasn’t facing the blond. If Draco found out how upset Harry was at the thought of this ending, the blond would probably get mad and leave; Draco had made it clear when this started two years ago that it wouldn’t be permanent-he still had a duty to provide an heir for his family, and he would have to get married to fulfill that duty. At the time it hadn’t seemed like a problem, since Harry didn’t see them lasting even a month, but, somewhere along the way, he had begun to fall for his former rival. He never deluded himself, however; he might let himself dream of a future with Draco, but he always made sure to remind himself that it was just a dream-someday soon Draco would get married, and Harry would have to find a way to move on. 

Harry was drawn out of his thoughts when slender hands gripped his shoulders tightly.

“Shut it, Potter,” Draco growled, spinning him around and stealing his lips in a passionate kiss, before walking them slowly towards the bed. He shoved Harry, smirking when the brunet cried out as he fell on the mattress, and then sank to his knees. He quickly pulled off the rest of Harry’s clothes, and wrapped a hand around Harry’s erection. “I don’t care about Astoria; not when I have someone so much more interesting in front of me. Tell me, how long do you think you can hold out before you beg for my cock?” Draco didn’t wait for an answer, but immediately leaned in and took Harry in his mouth, swallowing around his hardness. 

In the end, it didn’t take long at all before Draco-the teasing bastard-had Harry begging for his lover’s cock. Draco teased him some more as he opened him up with his fingers, before finally withdrawing and undressing. Harry groaned as Draco entered him, and wrapped his legs around Draco’s waist. Evidently done with teasing, Draco started thrusting deep and hard, stealing Harry’s breath away. Sometimes Draco was gentle, and Harry loved it, but there was something about being taken roughly that drove Harry crazy; he was coming, clenching around Draco’s length, without the blond even touching his cock. Draco cursed lowly and followed, kissing and biting at the brunet’s lips as he spilled his seed deep inside his lover.

Several minutes later, Draco pulled away and cast a cleaning charm before looking for his clothes.

“Not staying?” Harry asked, trying to push the disappointment away.

“You have an early day tomorrow,” Draco reminded him, “And I have a meeting in the morning; I can’t see either of us getting much sleep if I stay.”

“I suppose,” Harry grumbled, punching his pillow into shape before pulling the covers up, his eyes never leaving his lovers form as Draco got dressed, “Stop by the shop tomorrow, if you get a chance. Mrs. Weasley is making the pastries, and I’ll make sure to save you one.”

“I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to stop by while you’re open,” Draco said, “Save me one anyway, and I’ll meet you after close tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Harry agreed, “I don’t know what time I’ll be home, though; depends on how long it takes us to clean up after closing.”

“I’ll be busy until quite late as well,” Draco responded, slipping his shoes on and heading for the bedroom door; “Mind if I take the Floo?” Harry shook his head. “Alright then, I’ll see you tomorrow, Harry.”

“Good night, Draco,” Harry replied, as Draco closed the door. As Harry tried to go to sleep, he couldn’t help but wonder just what Draco was going to be up to that would keep him busy for an entire day; the blond didn’t have a job. Still, Draco had at least promised to see him again tomorrow night, so at least he had that to look forward to.

Friday, 12/19

The next morning, Harry was smiling as he walked through Diagon Alley, enjoying the quiet of the morning. It was cold out, but Harry was warm in a hand-knitted sweater, and he had decided to walk in to work instead of apparating. He was even earlier than planned-it was only now seven-but Harry thought that he could offer to help Mrs. Weasley, who had  
left an hour prior to make sure baked goods were ready in time for the grand opening.

Harry turned down Mystic Alley and nodded a greeting to the other shop owners already out and about; only about five of the twenty shops were currently open, although most of the rest were scheduled to open over the weekend. As Harry neared his shop, which was about halfway down the alley, he noticed movement at the Dueling Dragons; he picked up his pace, hoping that he could catch the owner before they entered the store, and was just in time to see a dark-haired witch opening the door.

“Excuse me!” Harry called, and the witch stiffened, “Good morning! I was just wondering-” The witch turned to face him, brown eyes narrowed and arms crossed, and Harry blinked in confusion. “Parkinson? Er-this is your shop?”

“Of course not, Potter,” Pansy Parkinson scoffed, “I am simply here to decorate. Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do before we open this afternoon.”

“Wait,” Harry frowned, “This afternoon? I thought you weren’t supposed to open until tomorrow.”

“The owner decided to have the grand opening a day early,” Parkinson replied, turning her back on him.

“Who is the owner?” Harry asked, but it wasn’t Parkinson who answered him.

“Might I ask why you are preventing Pansy from doing her job?” The familiar drawling voice had Harry spinning around, and he found Draco standing behind him, eyebrow arched. “Perhaps you are trying to sabotage my shop. Afraid of a little competition, are we Potter?”

“You wish,” Harry scoffed, Parkinson immediately forgotten, “I was just curious to see who owned this shop. I should have known Dueling Dragons? A bit pretentious, don’t you think?” Well, at least now he knew what Draco had been expecting to keep him busy for the day.

“Nargles and Nibbles?” Draco countered, “If you let Lovegood have as much input in the wares as she did in choosing the name, you’ll go out of business before the end of the month.”

“Luna is brilliant,” Harry argued, “I bet you’ll go out of business before we do.” It wasn’t much of a comeback, but Harry was still reeling over the fact that Draco was the owner of the competing shop-and the arrogant bastard hadn’t even told him!

“Is that so?” Draco challenged, grey eyes alight with mischief, “Why don’t we make it an official bet, then? One week from today, December 23rd, we will compare the amount of sales we have made, and the loser has to do whatever the winner wants for one day.”

“Agreed,” Harry said immediately, clasping Draco’s outstretched hand so they could shake on it, “Out of curiosity, did you decide to open a café before or after you heard Luna and me planning ours?”

“It was after you refused to take any of my ideas into consideration,” Draco replied, finally dropping his mask and smirking slightly, “Why? Were you surprised? Hurt that I didn’t  
confide in you?”

“Shocked that you were able to keep it a secret,” Harry replied with a grin, “Especially after all the Firewhiskey you drank at the pub last Saturday. Zabini had to drag you home, if I remember.”

“Which I highly doubt you do,” Malfoy replied, “Considering you passed out before we left. As much as I am enjoying this little exchange, I should get inside before Pansy decides to make everything pink again.”

“Yeah, I need to make sure everything’s ready for today,” Harry agreed, then mock-scowled, “I can’t believe you changed your opening date.”

“I figured you could use the competition,” Malfoy smirked again, “See you around, Potter.”

“Tonight?” Harry asked, “My place?”

“Tonight,” Malfoy agreed, “I’ll come to your shop once we close. Later Potter.”

Harry watched Malfoy enter his café, and then turned to his own shop. He found Mrs. Weasley and Ginny in the back, trays of pastries under warming charms filling the room.

“Good morning, dear,” Mrs. Weasley greeted him, “You really didn’t have to come in so early, Ginny and I have everything covered here.”

“I didn’t doubt you,” Harry assured her, “I was already awake though, and didn’t see any point in waiting to come in. What time do you have to leave for practice, Gin?”

“Oh, it was cancelled for the weekend,” Ginny replied, “So I’ll be able to help some more. I thought you would have come in later; didn’t you have a date last night?”

“It wasn’t a date,” Harry rolled his eyes, “Draco and I just…hang out sometimes. Besides, he had to leave early-and I just found out the real reason why.”

“The real reason?” Ginny questioned, her eyes lighting up at the thought of gossip, “Ooh! Tell me!”

“It’s nothing scandalous,” Harry laughed, “Just turns out Draco’s been holding out on me; he’s the owner of the Dueling Dragons.”

“No way!” Ginny cried, “That little ferret! I can’t believe he did this to you! And without telling me! That’s just rude!” Harry rolled his eyes; trust Ginny to be upset because Draco didn’t confide in her. Somehow, Ginny had turned into something of a gossip after Hogwarts. “Want me to change his sign?” Ginny offered, “I can make it say…oh! How about ‘Frolicking Ferrets’?”

“Thanks for the offer,” Harry laughed again, “I think I’ll pass though. I’m not mad at him or anything; the competition could be fun. Besides, I expect we’ll have very different customers.”

“That’s very likely,” Mrs. Weasley agreed, pausing in her baking for a moment, “Won’t you invite him over for Christmas Eve? I know he refused last year, but he should know that we don’t hold a grudge. I can tell he’s become important to you, and that means he’s important to us.”

“He’s not-” Harry started to protest, then gave in with a sigh; Mrs. Weasley and Ginny had known for a while now that Draco was more than a passing fancy, even if it didn’t want to admit it out loud. “Look, he doesn’t feel the same as I do,” Harry tried to explain, “When this started, he told me he still planned to marry and have kids eventually; in another year or  
two, this will be over.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Ginny insisted, “Right now is what matters, and right now Mum wants your ferrety friend to come over Christmas Eve. You’ll ask him.” Ginny fingered her wand in a threatening manner, and Harry sighed.

“I’ll ask him,” Harry agreed, “He’ll say no, but I’ll ask him.” Harry slowly grinned as he remembered the conversation in front of Draco’s shop, “Actually, I might be able to get him to come.” He quickly filled them in on the bet, finishing with, “…if I win, I can make Draco come to the Burrow with me.”

“I’ll keep an eye on Malfoy when Mum doesn’t need me,” Ginny offered, “If it looks like he’s getting too much business, I’ll go hand out some more flyers or something. Don’t worry, Harry; we’ll win this thing!” 

Harry shook his head and, after Mrs. Weasley once again told him she didn’t need his help, went to the counter and began sorting through the tea and tea kettles. He filled several kettles with water, and charmed them to slowly heat to the correct temperature, and then remain at that temperature until the charm was cancelled. He then moved on to measuring out the coffee grounds for several different brews, making sure they would be ready when the customers started arriving.

The day passed by quickly; Luna arrived at nine, and decided they should open the doors early. Mrs. Weasley had already made more pastries than Harry had ever seen in his life, and everything else was ready, so Harry agreed. As he unlocked the door and turned the sign to open, he saw why Luna had suggested opening early; the Dueling Dragon’s already had a line of customers. When Ginny found out about this, she immediately stepped outside and yelled;

“Due to popular demand, Nargles and Nibbles is now open! The first ten customers get a signed picture with the owner’s, Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter!” Harry had glared at the redhead, but had to admit the strategy worked; most of Draco’s customers rushed over the Nargles and Nibbles. Harry and Luna allowed Ginny to snap pictures with the first ten customers to cash out, and they were instructed to return that evening to pick up the developed picture. 

They remained busy for the rest of the day, and Harry was relieved when nine o’clock came and the one-way ward activated; customers in the store could leave, but no new customers could arrive. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny closed up the café, while Harry rang up the last few customers. Luna made the rounds, letting everyone know that they were closed and ushering the people who weren’t making purchases out of the store; Harry saw her giving each person as small bag as they left, and wondered what was in it, but he didn’t get a chance to ask until the last customer was gone.

“Oh, I made tea bags last night so that we could give the customer’s a free sample,” Luna told him, “This way, people won’t think we’re mean when we tell them they have to go.”

“Ha!” Ginny said, coming up behind them, “I bet Malfoy doesn’t give his customers free samples! I checked out his shop earlier, did I tell you?”

“No,” Harry shook his head, “What’s it like?”

“It’s more like a traditional tea shop,” Ginny shrugged, “They serve tea and coffee and sandwiches, but everything is made by House Elves. Everything is neat and organized; he’ll probably get a lot of business-type people, maybe ministry officials. Oh! He also sells chocolate!” She reached into her robe pocket and pulled out a small silver box with a blue ribbon. “I made a trade with Parkinson-she gave me a box of their chocolate, and I gave her some of Mum’s pastries. Want to try one? Parkinson said the House Elves make these, but a wizard created the recipe and supervises them.”

“Sure,” Harry said, and Ginny took the lid off the box; there were ten pieces inside, each one different. One had what looked like a rose petal on top, another a purple flower petal with sugar, and one had a curl of what he thought was orange peel. Harry selected a piece that looked to have sugar crystals on top, and took a bite. He discovered that it was salt, not sugar, on top, and the shell of the candy was dark chocolate, while the filling was caramel. The taste was amazing, the salt and caramel balancing each other perfectly, and Harry couldn’t stop his moan.

“I know,” Ginny agreed, popping the other half of her chocolate in her mouth, “This is the best chocolate I’ve ever had!”

“Draco will have a lot of business,” Luna said, “I think I’ll buy a box myself.” Luna had chosen the chocolate with the rose petal, and Ginny tried the one with the orange curl. The three finished off the box of chocolate, after offering Mrs. Weasley a piece, which she declined, and then set about straightening the store. Thankfully, magic made the task easy; in ten minutes, all the books had been re-shelved, and the dishes were washing themselves in the back of the store. A chime sounding brought Harry to the front of the store, and he found Draco standing outside. Harry briefly lowered the wards, and the blond entered.

“You’re not finished yet?” Draco demanded, and Harry rolled his eyes.

“Not all of us have an army of House Elves to clean for us,” Harry replied, “We’re almost done in here though. Just-”

“Oi! Malfoy!” Ginny called, stepping into the main part of the store, “How dare you open a competing café! And, more importantly, how dare you not tell me!”

“I had not realized I was required to tell you my plans,” Draco replied, “However shall I make it up to you?”

“Free chocolate,” Ginny replied without skipping a beat, “For life. Or, at least the name of the person who makes your chocolate.”

“Ah, the name is a secret,” Draco said, “However, I might be willing to give you free chocolate…if you direct customers to my shop the way you did for Potter this morning.”

“That might be a bit difficult,” Ginny said, “It’s awfully hard to get Harry to autograph pictures for people-the only thing more difficult is getting him to take the picture in the first  
place. I’ll get back to you on that. Oh! I almost forgot!” Ginny turned to Harry, “Luna said to go home; she’ll make sure everything’s locked up.”

“That’s okay,” Harry declined, “It shouldn’t take too much longer, and-”

“Don’t worry,” Ginny interrupted, “I’ll stay with her and make sure she actually closes up, and cancels the warming spells and all.” Harry hesitated; he just didn’t feel right leaving Ginny behind when it was his shop. “Go now, or I’ll show you the new spell George taught me.

“Right,” Harry said, grabbing Draco’s arm, “Thanks for staying, Gin; see you tomorrow.” He glanced at Draco and, when the blond nodded, apparated them to the drawing room at Grimmauld place.

“What spell was Ginerva talking about?” Draco asked curiously as he watched Harry take off his robe.

“No idea,” Harry replied, “But it can’t be a good thing if she’s threatening me with it. Did you eat today?”

“Yes; Pansy and I took turns watching the store so the other could eat,” Draco said, “You?”

“Mrs. Weasley forced me to sit down and eat at lunch and supper,” Harry laughed, “She still tells me I’m too skinny.”

“Hmm,” Draco hummed, stepping closer to Harry, “So, shall we go upstairs? I won’t be able to come over tomorrow night; Mother is insisting I have supper at the Manor, and I will likely stay the night there.”

“Oh,” Harry frowned, “Will Parkinson be able to run the café herself for those few hours?”  
“Blaise agreed to help,” Draco shrugged, “If he hadn’t offered to help I would have refused Mother’s invitation. I tried to regardless; the Greengrass’s will be there again, however, and-”

“It’s okay,” Harry interrupted, “You don’t have to explain. I already knew when this started that it was only temporary.” Draco frowned, probably unhappy about being interrupted, but Harry didn’t want to hear anymore about the Greengrass’s; he knew their time together was coming to an end, and he didn’t want to think about it. “Why don’t we just have fun  
while we still can?”

“Harry,” Draco began, but Harry leaned forward to kiss him, sliding his fingers through silky blond hair and holding Draco still when he would have pulled away. After a moment, Harry felt Draco relax and strong arms slipped around his waist, pulling him against his lover’s body.

“What do you want?” Harry asked, breaking the kiss but not trying to escape Draco’s hold, “Bedroom? Or, do you want me to bend over the couch? Do you want me to suck your cock? Or-”

“Fuck, Harry,” Draco groaned, pushing him towards the couch. Harry gave him a sly grin.

“That’s the idea,” he said, and then there was no more talking.

When Harry fell asleep that night, it was with a smile on his face, secure in the knowledge that, for at least that night, he was still the one in Draco’s arms.

Saturday, 12/20

When Draco woke up the next morning, it was to find himself alone in Harry’s bed. He frowned as he got up and got dressed; Draco rarely stayed the night, and he liked being able to wake up with Harry in his arms. Unfortunately, waking with Harry in his arms was an even rarer than him staying the night.

Once he was dressed in fresh clothes (Draco always made sure to have a few outfits at Harry’s, because he hated wearing the same clothes twice), Draco made his way downstairs and smiled when he found Harry sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast. Across from Harry, was another plate of food under a stasis charm.

“Good morning,” Harry greeted him with a smile, “Coffee or tea?”

“Good morning,” Draco replied, “Coffee. Who cooked this morning?”

“I did,” Harry replied as he got up and fixed Draco a cup of coffee, “So if you see Kreacher before you leave, try to give him a compliment.”

“I’ll do that,” Draco assured him, digging in to his breakfast, “How were sales yesterday?”

“Well enough that I’m making a list of things for you to do once you’re my slave,” Harry grinned.

“Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Draco drawled, “Remember-we aren’t counting how many people enter your café to gawk at the savior, only actual sales count.”

“Ha, ha,” Harry rolled his eyes, “We had plenty of people buy stuff. Speaking of, if you want I can Apparate you to the café so you don’t have to use the Floo.” Harry’s wards were set so that he was the only one-aside from Kreacher-who could Apparate in the house. Draco was keyed in to the Floo, but he had to be with Harry in order to Apparate.

“That will be fine,” Draco agreed, “If we are as busy as yesterday, I likely won’t see you again until tomorrow. If you feel like getting up early again, we can meet somewhere for breakfast.”

“Sounds good,” Harry smiled, “Muggle or Magic? Wait; why don’t you just meet me at the shop, and we can have whatever Mrs. Weasley is making for the day. Luna and I each have our own offices, so we can still have privacy.”

“Very well,” Draco said, “Seven o’clock?”

“Perfect,” Harry stood up, floating his dishes over to the sink, “I’ll be ready to leave in about ten minutes.”

“I will be ready by then,” Draco assured him, and watched as Harry walked out of the room.

The first half of the day passed quickly for Draco. He arrived at Dueling Dragon’s that morning to find Pansy already there, changing some of the décor.

“I analyzed our customers opinions yesterday,” Pansy informed him when he asked, “Some of them did not feel comfortable here. Our ambiance needs to be perfect if we’re going to compete against Potter. Which reminds me; do not let them bring any more pastries over here-Mrs. Weasley’s cooking is amazing, and just looking at one of her cakes makes me gain ten pounds. Now, darling, why don’t you go check on the chocolate? And don’t let me near it today. I mean it, Draco; my waistline can’t afford for me to get into the chocolate again. Well? Go!”

Draco, wisely, chose not to argue with his friend; Pansy was vicious when angry, and something had obviously already happened to her this morning. Upon entering the kitchen, he found Blaise already hard at work, whistling cheerfully.

“Good morning, Drake,” Blaise greeted him, “Looking forward to meeting your future wife?”

“Not hardly,” Draco snorted, “I already know Astoria, or have you forgotten? She’s not a bad sort, I suppose, but I am not looking forward to my engagement.”

“Still determined to provide an heir then?” Blaise asked, “The way things have been going lately, I thought you might be reconsidering.”

“I can’t afford to reconsider,” Draco frowned, “If I don’t provide an heir, my family will end with me. After all that I’ve been through, I am not willing to let that happen.”

“Not even for Potter?”

“Harry understands,” Draco said, “He knows that this is important to me. If there was some other way…but there isn’t. So, I will go to supper. I will speak to Astoria, and we will come to an agreement that both of us can live with. Maybe, after my heir is born…” Draco sighed, “What I wish to happen never can, so there is no use dreaming about it.” He shook his head and turned his attention back to business. “Will we have enough chocolate for the day? I was glad to see how well it sold yesterday, but it was still embarrassing to run out of product three hours before the close of business.”

“I have the House Elves making triple the amount for today,” Blaise assured him, “I expect, with word of mouth, we’ll have even more requests for the chocolate today.” He paused, then asked, “Are you sure that this is what you want? I know your parents expect it, but you need to make yourself happy too.”

“Having an heir will make me happy,” Draco insisted.

“And you’re sure Potter wouldn’t be willing to-” 

“I’m sure,” Draco interrupted, “Infidelity is often a part of an arrange marriage, but only if both partners are discrete. Harry would never agree to it, and I don’t blame him; everyone would see him as my bit on the side, and he’s worth more than that. Now, I want to try to open earlier today; we need to get a head start on Potter-I have no intention of letting him win our bet.”

The rest of the day passed quickly, and soon Pansy was shooing Draco towards the Floo so that he wouldn’t be late for supper. He arrived in his bedroom in the manor, to find his mother already waiting for him.

“Mother,” Draco nodded at her, before walking over to his closet and examining his robes for something suitable to wear, “Did you need something?”

“I just wanted to speak to you about this evening,” Narcissa said, “This supper is very important, as I am sure you already know.”

“Yes, Mother,” Draco rolled his eyes, glad he wasn’t facing his mother, “I know this is important. I will speak to Astoria after supper to find out what she requires for this to be a successful evening. If you will excuse me, Mother, I need to take a shower.” Draco had chosen a set of dark blue robes, and he levitated them over to his bed. As he walked past her, his mother placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I do not want you to be unhappy,” Narcissa frowned, “Are you happy with this match?”

“There is no other woman I would rather marry,” Draco assured her, and it was true; if he had his choice, he’d be with Harry-but there was no other woman he was interested in.

“I see,” Narcissa said thoughtfully, before giving him a small smile and a kiss on the forehead, “The Greengrass’s will be here in an hour; make certain you are downstairs before they arrive.”

A few hours later, after a rather boring dinner, Draco escorted Astoria to the parlor Narcissa had chosen to use for the evening. It was called a courting parlor, and had a small alcove that would allow Draco and Astoria to speak in private, while still being in full view of their parents. The privacy spells were tuned to the couple inside the alcove, and would prevent their parents from hearing their conversation.

“Well, that was promising,” Astoria said wryly, sitting down on one of the chairs and picking up the glass of champagne waiting for her, “I can tell your parents are as eager as mine are for us to wed, but is it for the same reason?” Draco looked at Astoria with a little more interest, taking in her pale hair-a blonde only a shade or two darker than his own-and green eyes, which were narrowed as she observed him.

“I was unaware that your parents had an ulterior reason for pushing you to get married,” Draco replied after a moment, “As for me…my parents simply feel that I have been putting it off for long enough, and Mother desires a grandson.”

“Hmm,” Astoria frowned, “Mother will likely hex me for it, but I am going to take a risk and be honest with you. I was hurt that last year at school. I kept my head down most of the time, but one day I managed to get on Umbridge’s bad side, and she cursed me. Mother’s healer said that the curse damaged me, and I will be lucky if I can have even one child; the healer expects me to lose my ability to bear children before I am twenty-five.”

“You are twenty-two now?” Astoria nodded, and Draco sighed, “I see. In the interest of being honest, I must tell you that I am not interested in women. I find you beautiful, but I do not have any interest in actually sleeping with you. It doesn’t matter though, because I know my duty. If you agree to marry me, I will make sure you are under the care of the best healer’s, and I will provide you with anything you desire. I will never touch another woman, however-” 

“I understand,” Astoria interrupted, “As long as you are discrete, I don’t mind if you have a lover on the side, as long as you extend the same courtesy to me. In addition, neither of us will seek outside companionship until after our child is born.”

“Agreed,” Draco said, smiling sadly, “Shall we tell our parents the good news?” He stood up and offered his hand, but Astoria frowned again, remaining seated.

“You don’t want this,” she said, “And not only because you’re interested in men.” She contemplated him in silence for a minute, then her eyes widened slightly, before narrowing. “Who is he?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Draco shook his head, sitting down again, “As much as I care for him, and as much as I suspect he cares for me,” He paused, smiling wryly, “Well, he has too much pride to be anyone’s dirty little secret. No, he will likely break it off as soon as I tell him you and I are engaged. No offense to you, Astoria, but if there were another way for me to get an heir-some way that I could still keep him…”

“There may be a way,” Astoria said, “I have no interest in being stuck in a loveless marriage, especially when you already care for someone else; you would eventually come to resent me and our child. However, I think I know a way that we can satisfy our parents, and still let you be happy. Have you ever heard of…”

Sunday, 12/21

Harry got to Nargles and Nibbles early, so he was surprised to see Draco already waiting on him. 

“Draco,” Harry greeted him with a smile, and Draco nodded at him.

“Hurry up, Potter,” Draco said, “It’s cold out here.”

“Well, you’re the one who got here early,” Harry reminded him, even as he took the wards down long enough for him and Draco to enter the café. “I’ll show you where my office is,  
then go get some food from Mrs. Weasley. My office has a fireplace, so it should warm up pretty quickly.” Harry led him towards the back of the shop to a small door near the entrance to the kitchen. Behind the door was a small hallway, with four doors-one led to a break room, one to a restroom, and the other two led to Luna and his offices.

“I’m not actually that cold,” Draco replied with a smirk, “I do know how to cast a warming charm, after all.”

“Whatever,” Harry rolled his eyes, opening the door to his office and starting a fire, “Make yourself comfortable; I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Wait,” Draco put a hand on his arm, “Breakfast can wait a minute. Come here.” Harry let Draco pull him into the office and close the door behind him. Draco crossed over to the fire and stood there silently, and only then did Harry notice the tension in the blond’s shoulders.

“Draco?” Harry called softly. Draco turned to face him, and Harry felt his stomach clench when he saw the nervousness in the blond’s eyes.

“I had supper with the Greengrass’s last night,” Draco began, and Harry nodded; he remembered-of course he remembered! “After supper, Astoria and I discussed the possibility of marriage. She helped me to see that I cannot continue to live the way I have been. I know I always told you that this was temporary-”

“You always intended to get married and have an heir,” Harry interrupted, proud of himself for keeping his voice even, “I always knew that what we had would end, I just thought…” He trailed off and then shook his head, “It doesn’t matter. It’s better this way; it would be wrong for us to keep-it wouldn’t be fair to Astoria. I understand, and thank you for being honest with me.”

“No, Harry,” Draco frowned, “I didn’t mean-”

“I’m sorry Draco,” Harry interrupted, “I always knew-but that doesn’t make this any easier. I want us to continue being friends, but I can’t do this right now. If you still want breakfast, I’m sure Mrs. Weasley can fix you up with something. I have to-I need to go home for a bit. Congratulations on your engagement; Mrs. Weasley can let you out when you’re ready to go.” Harry spun on his heel and Apparated before Draco could say anything else. 

Harry arrived in his bedroom and collapsed on the bed, breathing in Draco’s scent on the sheets that he hadn’t yet changed. It was pathetic, but Harry hadn’t wanted to let Kreacher change the sheets in case the last time Draco was with him was the actual last time. He couldn’t just lay there and be pathetic for the rest of his life, but he thought he was allowed some time to mourn the ending of his and Draco’s relationship.

Harry only let himself wallow in his feelings for about twenty minutes before he got up and changed clothes; the ones he had been wearing now smelled like Draco.

“Kreacher!” He called, and began giving instruction as soon as the House Elf appeared, “Change the sheets on my bed, and put all of Draco’s belongings in a box, then put it in the drawing room. I don’t know when Draco will be by to get them, but make sure he doesn’t go anywhere else in the house. After he gets his box, change the Floo settings; he can still Floo call, but I don’t want him to be able to enter the Floo without my permission.” 

“Yes, Master Harry,” Kreacher agreed, “Kreacher will be doing as Master commands. Kreacher is not asking, but Kreacher is wondering why poor Master Draco is not being allowed in the house of his blood.” Kreacher didn’t wait for a reply, but immediately stripped the bed and then vanished with the sheets.

Harry took a last look around his room, then Apparated to the shop, landing in his, thankfully empty, office.

The shop was just as busy as it had been the previous two days, but Harry found that time was dragging by. He hadn’t told anyone about Draco, but Luna and Mrs. Weasley kept giving him sad, knowing looks, and so he avoided speaking to them unless necessary; he wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened. Honestly, he wasn’t sure why he was so upset; he’d known since day one that their relationship could never last. In retrospect, Harry figured he probably should have ended it when he realized that he was falling in love with the snarky blond in his bed, but he’d managed to convince himself that the future heartache would be worth it. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

Monday 12/22

“Potter,” Harry looked up from the coffee had been brewing with a smile, only to stare in shock at the blonde in front of him.

“Er, good afternoon,” Harry tried, “Miss Greengrass, right? What can I get for you?”

“How about an explanation?” Astoria demanded, “How could you treat Draco like-”

“That’s none of your business,” Harry interrupted, glaring at the woman, “What goes on between Draco and I-I mean, what used to go on-it’s none of your business. It’s over we always knew it wouldn’t last. It couldn’t last not when…” Harry sighed and closed his eyes, counting to ten before he looked at Astoria again, “Would you like a pastry, Miss Greengrass? Or, a cup of tea? We have a limited-edition Dirigible Plum Tea; if you buy a cup, you get a free pastry or sandwich, and a tin of mints.” Harry flashed her a smile, the one Draco had made him practice for the press, and she sighed.

“Very well, Potter,” Astoria said, “I can’t make you talk. Just so you know, you aren’t the only one hurting.” Harry just continued to smile, even as he clenched his fists under the counter. “I believe I shall go across the street for my tea. Have a good day, Potter.”

“You too, Miss Greengrass,” Harry replied, then turned his attention to the next customer, forcing himself to pay attention to what he was doing, instead of wondering at Greengrass’s visit.

“You can’t avoid him forever,” Ginny said; it was later that night, and she was helping him close up, “His shop is right across from yours, for one thing.”

“That’s what Apparation is for,” Harry replied, counting the money and putting in a small trunk; the trunk was keyed only to his and Luna’s magical signature-no except them and the goblins could even touch it without getting burned. “Besides, I’m not going to avoid him forever; just until it starts to hurt a little less.”

“I don’t think that’s very practical,” Ginny told him, “Not unless you think it will hurt less tomorrow.”

“What are you talking about?” Harry gave her a puzzled frown.

“The bet, remember? You have to meet Draco tomorrow to see who won.”

“I-no,” Harry shook his head, “The bet’s off. I mean, Draco can’t possibly think that it’s still on! Not after he just dumped me!”

“From what I understand, you dumped him,” Ginny said, “He tried to talk to you about Astoria, and you just assumed-”

“I just beat him to the punch,” Harry interrupted, “He told me he couldn’t do it anymore; what else could that mean? Look, it’s not important; I’m not mad at Draco-” Except, he really was angry at the blond; he just didn’t see the point in showing his anger, since it wouldn’t change anything. “I still want to be friends, I just need some time. You’re right though, about the bet. I guess I’ll have to talk to him tomorrow, whether I’m ready or not. Will you-never mind; I’ll send him an owl to arrange the meeting time.”

“Don’t be silly,” Ginny rolled her eyes, “I’ll tell him to come by after you close tomorrow. Unless you’d rather go to his shop?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Harry shrugged, “Whatever he wants is fine. If he wants to call off the bet, that’s fine too.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know,” Ginny said, “Now, the cleaning is done, and Mum left an hour ago. Are you finished with the deposit?”

“Yeah, I’ll drop it by Gringott’s in the morning,” Harry replied, “You go back to practice tomorrow, right?”

“Not until after New Year’s,” Ginny said, “The coach decided to let us all relax for a change; we’re spending the month of January in a boot camp though. If I ever find out who introduced the idea of boot camps to the wizarding world…”

“Right, death to the creator of boot camp,” Harry laughed, hugging Ginny as they prepared to Apparate, “Thanks for all the help, Gin.”

“No problem,” Ginny returned the hug, “See you in the morning, boss!” She stepped away and Apparated home. Harry took a minute to check the wards and make sure the shop was secure, then followed her example. 

Tuesday 12/23

“Here are the sales records,” Pansy said, handing Draco a stack of parchment, “I made sure everything’s in there, so he can’t claim you cheated.”

“Thank you, Pansy,” Draco smiled up at his friend, then sighed and dropped the parchment on his desk, “He probably won’t even show.”

“Ginerva assured you Potter will be here,” Pansy reminded him, “Also, he’s a Gryffindor; it goes against his nature to back down from a challenge. Once you know you’ve won, you can use Potter’s day of servitude to make him listen to you-and then he can spend the rest of the day making up for being such an idiot.”

“I can’t really blame him,” Draco said, “I spent the last two years telling him our relationship was only temporary; how was he supposed to know-” The sound of a chime interrupted him, and Draco frowned when he recognized two magical signatures. “He brought Lovegood with him.”

“Good,” Pansy walked towards the door, “I’ll send Potter in, then Lovegood and I can chat while the two of you compare wand sizes, or whatever.” Pansy paused with the door open and added, “If you still can’t get Potter to listen to you, I have no problem kidnapping him for you.”

“Thanks Pansy,” Draco laughed, “I’d hate for you to get in trouble for kidnapping the savior though.” Pansy just smirked and went to let their guests in. A few minutes later, Draco’s office door opened, and Potter entered, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“Have a seat, Potter,” Draco gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

“Er, no thanks,” Harry said, “I just-we don’t have to do this. I mean, I thought the bet was off until Ginny told me otherwise.”

“The bet isn’t cancelled unless both participants agree to call it off,” Draco informed him, “And I have no intention of calling off the bet-not when I’m certain I won. Before we compare numbers, however, I want to talk to you about-” 

“No,” Harry interrupted, “I don’t want to talk about it; it’s hard enough just being here. Can we just get on with it?”

“I need to explain first,” Draco said, and Harry scowled.

“I don’t want to hear it,” the brunet said, walking to the door, “If all you want to do is talk about-” he broke off when he realized he was unable to open the door, “What the hell, Malfoy?” Before Draco could protest that he’d had nothing to do with this, a rabbit Patronus came through the door and spoke in Lovegood’s voice.

“You’ve let the Nargles get in your head again, Harry. We will let you out after you give Draco a chance to explain. If you get hungry, I put a box of pastries in your pocket.”

Harry’s shoulders slumped when he realized that Lovegood was the one to lock them in Draco’s office; Draco had heard Blaise talking to Lovegood’s fiancé once, and Scamander had mentioned that Lovegood could cast some of the strongest wards and locking spells. They wouldn’t be leaving the office until Lovegood let them out; it was a good thing they were both closed the following day for Christmas Eve.

“Fine,” Draco startled, not having expected Harry to speak first, “Since you’ve evidently corrupted Luna, I guess I have no choice but to listen to you.” Harry threw himself into the chair and glared at Draco. “Well? What did you want to say?” 

Draco thought about giving Harry a hard time, especially since the other man still didn’t seem particularly interested in listening to him; it made Draco doubt himself, and wonder if he had made the right decision. Draco didn’t like feeling uncertain, and he was tempted to take it out on Harry, but decided he’d rather explain first, and see if he could get Harry to stop being such an idiot.

“When Astoria and I discussed our parents plans for us,” Draco began, “I told her that I was not interested in women. She was willing to marry me regardless, as long as I was discrete and waited until our child was born to have an affair. She could sense that I was not happy with the marriage, and determined that I already cared for someone else; when I told her that my lover would not agree to continue a relationship after I was married, she offered an alternative solution. It took us several hours, but we were able to convince our parents to agree to her idea. Astoria and I will wed, but we will not consummate the marriage. Instead, we will use a potion that will allow her to get pregnant without us having to sleep together. Once our child is born, we will get an annulment.”

“Wait,” Harry frowned, “You-I thought you said you couldn’t get a divorce?”

“An annulment is not the same thing as a divorce,” Draco pointed out, “Father wasn’t happy with the plan, but he eventually admitted that, while divorces are not allowed in our family, there are no rules against getting an annulment.”

“You weren’t breaking up with me.”

“No,” Draco confirmed, “Well, we would eventually have to separate, but only for the duration of my marriage to Astoria; one or two years, because Astoria wants to have a child as soon as possible.”

“What if you want more than one kid?” Harry asked, frowning.

“I can’t go into details, but Astoria will only be able to have one child,” Draco said, “Something happened to her-it isn’t my place to tell.”

“You might change your mind about div-I mean, getting the annulment-after the baby is born,” Harry said, “You might decide it would be better to raise him with two parents.”

“Astoria and I will still raise the child together,” Draco said, “Astoria and I were never in love, so this won’t be some hostile relationship where we fight all the time; we will have the child together to make our parents happy, and then we will both be free to find out own happiness. Although, I rather think I have already found my happiness, if you are willing to  
be apart for a couple of years.”

“Well,” Harry bit his bottom lip, looking down at his lap before glancing up to meet Draco’s eyes, “I suppose…a couple of years isn’t too bad; not when I thought we were over for good. God, Draco! I thought that-”

“I know,” Draco cut him off, “You don’t have to say anything. I have spent the past year trying to prepare myself to end our relationship, so I’m glad that now I don’t have to.” Draco  
stood up and walked around the desk, then straddled Harry’s lap to give him a passionate kiss which was eagerly returned.

“Wait,” Harry gasped, breaking the kiss only for Draco to start kissing his neck, “That’s so-no! Draco! Aren’t you-engaged?”

“Hmm?” Draco pulled away, smirking as he admired the bruise above Harry’s pulse; the brunet would probably use a bruise removal paste later, but Draco would enjoy seeing it while he could. He shook his head, and answered Harry’s question. “We decided to wait until January first to make the engagement official,” Draco said, “We still have a week before we have to say our temporary goodbye, and Astoria is demanding a February wedding. With any luck, we’ll be together again by next Christmas.”

“Good,” Harry said, pulling Draco’s head back down for another kiss, “Because I don’t think I’m ready to let you go again just yet.” Their lips had barely touched, when the door slammed open; Harry tried to jump up, but Draco’s weight on his lap prevented him from moving, and he felt his face heat when Luna and Parkinson entered the office.

“As happy as I am to see that Potter has stopped being an idiot,” Parkinson began, “Lovegood and I want to know who won the bet so that we can go home.”

“You couldn’t have knocked first?” Harry grumbled, “We were kind of busy; I have better things to do than worry about who won a stupid bet.”

“Why, worried you lost?” Draco teased, smirking when Harry glared at him, “Alright then, let’s have it; what were your final sales?” Draco slid off Harry’s lap, and walked around the desk, grabbing the top sheet of parchment and taking it back to Harry. Harry pulled out his own sheet of parchment, and the two examined them side-by-side.

“Ha! I won, Malfoy!” Harry crowed, and Draco frowned at him.

“What are you talking about, Potter?” He demanded, “It’s obvious I won; I made thirty Galleons more than you.”

“But I had five more customers than you,” Harry pointed out, “Our bet was on who had the most sales, and I did.”

“No, the bet was on who’s sales were highest,” Draco countered, “As in, who made more money; that would be me.”

“Oh dear, the blibbering-humdingers were up to mischief again,” Luna frowned, “Such a mix up!”

“I agree,” Parkinson rolled her eyes, “Sounds like a miscommunication to me; Potter thought they were counting the number of sales made, and Draco thought they were counting how much money was made.”

“Okay then,” Harry frowned, “Who won?”

“I’d say it’s a draw,” Parkinson shrugged, “So either no one won, or you each won half a day, however you want to do it. Come on, Lovegood; let’s let these to get back to making  
up.” Parkinson and Luna left, and Harry turned his attention back to Draco, who was eyeing him speculatively.

“I like the half-day idea,” Draco announced, “I get to make you do whatever I want for twelve hours, and then I’ll do whatever you want for twelve hours.”

Harry started to argue, but then thought better of it.

“You’ll do whatever I say for twelve hours?” he asked, and Draco nodded, “Okay, then I claim my twelve hours first; as part of it, you have to come to the Burrow with me tomorrow.” Harry grinned when Draco scowled at him.

“That is not an appropriate use of your forfeit,” Draco complained, “Fine, but I’ll get you back tomorrow night. Now, are you ready to go home?” He grinned slyly, “Or, we could break in the desk.”

Harry returned the grin, then laughed when Draco pulled him to his feet and pushed him towards the desk. 

Wednesday 12/24

Harry and Draco had spent a pleasant day at the Burrow; everyone- including Ron, who had arrived home that morning, along with Hermione-had at least been civil to Draco, and the blond had slowly relaxed. Ginny’s presence likely helped, as she had made the effort to get to know Draco better over the past week. Mrs. Weasley, too, helped Draco relax, as she tried to force food on him. Since Harry and Draco weren’t going to be there the following day, they exchanged gifts after lunch. Draco had tried to hide it, but Harry knew he was touched when he received a handmade sweater from Mrs. Weasley, silver with a green dragon and a black dragon dueling on the front. Harry’s sweater was red with mistletoe and cake; Mrs. Weasley confided that the mistletoe was added because she had no idea what a Nargle looked like, but Luna had told her that they lived in mistletoe.

Finally, after presents and a last snack, Harry and Draco had returned to Grimmauld Place. After instructing Kreacher to leave them alone unless called, Draco had then given Harry a wicked grin and announced that he was claiming his forfeit now. Harry had tried to protest-there was no way that his twelve hours were up-but Draco had been very persuasive, and  
Harry had given in.

Now, standing in front of the mirror, Harry regretted giving in so easily. Harry glared at his reflection, ignoring the blond standing behind him for the time being. 

First, Draco had used a potion on Harry to remove the hair on his legs, which wasn’t too terrible as Draco already used the potion himself on a regular basis. Next, though, he had given Harry a collection of undergarments consisting of a pair of black lace thigh highs with a green satin garter belt edged in black lace and a pair of matching panties. Draco had instructed him to put the panties on over the garter belt, that way they could be easily taken off later; the last was said with a leer that made Harry blush. Then he had pulled out an emerald green corset dress with a flounced skirt and black lace overlay, which Draco was currently lacing up for him. Harry held his breath as Draco tightened the laces, and watched as the corset gave him almost-feminine curves.

Harry wasn’t really angry at his boyfriend; he’d cross-dressed for Draco before and found the results to be very…satisfying; even more satisfying than when Draco did the same for him. But before, he had never done more than put on some lacey knickers and a tight dress, and both garments had been on the floor within an hour. This was different, because Draco had given him a whole outfit and was doing his makeup; plus, he was expected to remain dressed like this for the rest of the day! Harry felt self-conscious, and the fact that the silk knickers made him hard…well, that just irritated him further.

“I hate you,” Harry’s glare turned to a pout, “Why do I have to dress like a girl? And with stockings and makeup and everything?”

“Because you look gorgeous,” Draco replied, “The clothes cling to you just right, and the skirt is just short enough that I can see the edge of your panties. The green makes your eyes look brighter than ever, and the makeup will just emphasize your features. I have heels for you too, that will make your legs look even longer and slimmer than they are. I bought it because you seemed to like wearing a dress before…or did you only do that for me?”

“At first it was just because you liked it,” Harry admitted, “but then I realized that I enjoyed wearing the clothes; it might have been different if you’d expected me to act like a girl, but I was still able to be me…just in a dress. I’m just not sure about all this extra stuff…if I don’t like it when you’ve finished, can I just wear the knickers and the corset-thingy?”

“Of course,” Draco smiled, leaning down to kiss him once more, “I’ve told you before we’ll never do anything you really don’t want to. Now, are you going to stop making faces so I can do your makeup? It’s just your eyes and lips, and won’t take long at all if you stay still.” Harry crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue in response, laughing when Draco swatted his head.

A few minutes later his makeup was done, and Draco had slipped a pair of silver platform heels on his feet. The heels were higher than Harry would have liked, but the heel was also thick enough that he didn’t feel like he was balancing on a wand tip, and he was able to walk with only a slight wobble. For the finishing touch, Draco gave him a black choker with  
an emerald pendant.

Once he was dressed Draco brought him back in front of the mirror, and Harry examined his reflection. He was relieved to see that the makeup didn’t make him look like a girl; Draco had merely lined his eyes with a dark green liner that made them seem bigger and darker than before, and he had smudged the liner across his eyelids in place of eyeshadow. His lips seemed redder than before, and had a slight shine to them but, again, it wasn’t overly girlie. The corset dress gave him almost an hourglass figure, but you could still see the hard planes of his chest, and the stockings and heels definitely made his legs look longer and more slender.

“I’ll wear it for a while,” he announced, “but the shoes might have to go; just standing still hurts.”

“Just try them for a little while,” Draco said, “but you can take them off anytime you want. You really do look bloody hot like that.” He stepped up behind Harry and rested his chin on the shorter man’s shoulder, wrapping his arms around Harry’s narrow waist. Harry leaned his head back against Draco’s chest and turned to press a kiss to his throat, smirking when he felt Draco shiver.

“None of that now,” Draco said sternly as he stepped back, “First, we have your photoshoot to do.” Harry groaned; in all the fuss about the clothes he had forgotten this part of the bargain. He reluctantly turned around and watched as Draco cast a few spells to make their room look the way he wanted it to.

“I think we’ll start in the window seat,” Draco decided; Harry spent the next two hours posing for Draco as the blond positioned him around the room. He started in the window seat, lying on his stomach and propped up on his elbows with a book in front of him, and then went on to pose sitting on top of the desk with his legs crossed, leaning against the bedposts, and kneeling in front of the fireplace, to name a few positions. They stopped for supper, after which Draco reapplied Harry’s lip color, and then Draco instructed him in a  
few more poses, before pausing in thought.

“Last pose is your choice,” Draco informed the brunet, “On the bed, but do you want a blindfold or just to be bound to the bed?” Harry thought about it for a moment before making a decision.

“I’m okay with being bound and blindfolded,” he replied, “But first…I want to get on my knees in front of you.” Draco bit back a groan as his mind readily supplied him with the image of Harry on his knees, sucking him off.

“Very well,” Draco said, managing to keep his voice casual, “but if I allow that, then you also get a gag afterwards.” Harry quickly nodded, the idea very appealing to him; who knew dressing in girl’s clothes would bring out the pervert in him? “Well then, what are you waiting for?” Draco demanded, discreetly activating a charm before setting the camera down. “On your knees, Potter.” Harry crossed the few steps to where Draco was waiting, and the blond helped him kneel; he still had the heels on, thanks to a cushioning charm Draco had discovered. “And I think your hands belong behind your back, don’t you?”

Harry put his arms behind his back, clasping his hands as he looked up at his lover. Draco leisurely unfastened his trousers just enough so that he could pull out his cock; Draco’s free hand found itself in Harry’s dark locks, and he tugged gently, pulling the brunet forward as he pressed the tip of his cock against Harry’s lips. Harry’s lips parted slightly, his tongue darting out to lick the bead of precum on the tip of Draco’s cock. Draco pushed forward, parting Harry’s lips further with his thick length, and groaned as his lover’s tongue flicked up to trace the vein on the underside of his erection. Harry retreated a bit to suck the tip of Draco’s cock again, before slowly leaning in, swallowing his lover to the root.

“Damn, Harry,” Draco moaned, “I’ve been hard all day, watching you pose in that skimpy outfit.” Draco gasped as Harry bobbed up and down, sucking on the head of his cock, and then taking him in completely and swallowing. Draco was vaguely aware of the camera continuing to take pictures at random intervals, and the thought made him even harder; he was tempted to let Harry finish him off like this, but he’d already decided that he wanted to make his lover come before finding his own pleasure. Draco smirked as he thought about Harry’s likely reaction to what he had planned, and pulled away, ignoring the brunet’s protests.

“On the bed love,” Draco commanded, “Knickers off. You can take the heels off or keep them on, your choice.” Draco watched as Harry pulled the lace panties off and threw them on the floor, then crawled on the bed, facing the headboard on his hands and knees. Draco smacked his upturned ass, and Harry moaned. “Not like that,” Draco corrected, “On your back. I want to see your face tonight.” 

Harry slowly turned over and started to lay down, then reconsidered and sat up to remove the heels.

“Pity,” Draco said, conjuring lengths of green silk and using it to bind Harry spread-eagle on the bed, “The heels really did look divine on you.” Before Harry could reply, a black ball  
gag filled his mouth, and a matching blindfold covered his eyes. Draco stepped away from the bed, and took a moment to admire his work. 

Harry looked like a wet dream, his creamy skin almost glowing against the black silk sheets. His arms and legs were spread and bound to the bed posts, his muscles tightening as he reflexively tested the bonds. His cheeks were flushed, and his wild hair was messier than ever. Draco looked at the ball gag and frowned; he’d have to get rid of that soon, but first…

Draco summoned the enchanted camera and set it to taking pictures again, and then summoned a jar of lube. He crawled between his lover’s legs and began working his fingers inside Harry’s tight hole, slowly loosening him up. Harry moaned and gasped into his gag, and Draco quickly reached for his wand, vanishing the gag so he could hear the sound his  
lover made.

“Oh, more!” Harry demanded, trying to push back on the two fingers currently scissoring inside him, “Fuck, Draco!”

“Soon, Harry,” Draco replied, smirking when he added another finger and Harry tried to push back against it; the silk ties were doing their job, however, and Harry was unable to do more than twitch. “Are you ready, love?”

“Yes!” Harry cried, “Come on!” Draco pumped his three fingers in and out of Harry’s hole, making sure to brush against his prostate occasionally, and watched as his lover tried to move his hips and get him to go faster. 

After a few minutes, Draco non-verbally summoned a new item, and gave his blind-folded lover a wicked grin. If Harry could see him now, he’d be wary. Luckily for the brunet, he wouldn’t have time to worry about Draco’s intentions; all he had to do was sit back and enjoy what was coming. Draco withdrew his fingers, causing Harry to whine in displeasure, and grabbed the jar of lubricant again.

Harry was almost ashamed of the whimper he gave when Draco withdrew his fingers, but he hadn’t been able to help himself; he’d been hard since Draco had first shown him this ridiculous outfit, and now he was more than ready for his lover’s cock. He pulled against his bonds again, out of habit more than any real desire to get away, and listened to the sounds his lover was making. Was Draco taking off his clothes? Yes, that rustle of cloth must be Draco’s robes being tossed on the floor; sex was the only thing that could ever make Draco drop his clothes haphazardly on the floor, instead of sending them to the hamper. 

A few seconds later, Harry felt something pushing against his rim, and he tried to push his hips back, wanting to take his lovers cock deep inside him. His bonds were too well tied,  
however, and he let out a groan of frustration, making Draco chuckle.

“What’s wrong, Harry?” Draco teased, pushing the tip of his cock just past the rim, and then withdrawing again, “Do you want this?”

“Yes, you ass,” Harry growled, “Fuck me, Draco! No more games!”

“Hmm, well, perhaps just one more game,” Draco said thoughtfully; before Harry could respond, Draco pressed forward, making Harry throw his head back and moan as he was slowly penetrated by his lover’s thick cock. His limbs trembled, wanting badly to move, until finally Draco bottomed out. There was a short pause, and then his lover was withdrawing; Draco set a slow and steady pace, then wrapped a lube-slicked hand around Harry’s cock. Harry gasped in pleasure as his lover stroked his cock in time with his thrusts, but all too soon that hand fell away.

“Don’t stop!” Harry pleaded, his hips jerking in search of friction. He fell still, however, frowning in confusion when he felt a weight settle over top of him, and realized Draco was straddling him. “What-oh!”

Draco grinned, slowly lowering himself over his lover’s cock, enjoying the sight of those red lips parted in surprise. Draco usually topped, but every once in a while, he liked to feel Harry deep inside him; it was even better when the brunet didn’t see it coming. Draco had prepared himself with a few non-verbal spells, as the enchanted dildo fucked into Harry; the dildo was made to mimic Draco’s cock, and had obviously been realistic enough to fool his lover. Draco had to close his eyes as he took in the last inch of Harry’s cock; it had been a while since they’d done it this way, and Draco didn’t want this to be over with too quickly.

“Please Draco,” Harry moaned, pulling against his bonds, “Move!” 

“Patience, love,” Draco said, leaning forward and capturing his lover’s lips in a passionate kiss. When he pulled back, they were both breathing heavily. “Perhaps you would like it if I gave you back some control,” Draco mused, reaching for his wand once again. He lifted himself up until he was penetrated by just the tip of Harry’s cock, and then vanished the ties around Harry’s ankles. As Draco lowered himself back down, Harry bent his legs and thrust up, drawing a pleasure-filled moan from Draco. A last wave of his wand set the dildo to fuck Harry at a faster pace, and then Draco focused his attention on riding his lover. 

Harry thrusted up every time Draco came back down, and the blond moaned, leaning forward to brace himself against Harry’s chest. He moved his hips, trying different angles, until Harry’s cock brushed against his prostate. Draco’s cry of pleasure spurred Harry on, and the brunet did his best-with his limited range of movement-to hit Draco’s prostate on every thrust. The lover’s moved against each other frantically, seeking their completion. Draco tried to slow down and make it last, but they had both been turned on for far too long. Much sooner than he planned, Draco felt himself approaching orgasm, and he clenched his muscles tightly, squeezing Harry’s cock.

“Fuck,” Harry swore, his hips stuttering before he began thrusting more frantically, crying out his lover’s name as his orgasm was pulled from him. Draco followed soon after, spilling his release over the green corset before collapsing on top of his lover. He reached for his wand and vanished the ties and the dildo, and Harry groaned as he lowered his arms to wrap around Draco.

“How about the dress?” Harry asked, “Can you get rid of that too?”

“I’m not vanishing the corset,” Draco replied, “You’ll just have to take it off yourself.” He rolled to the side and cast a cleaning charm on both of them. Harry sat up, and Draco reached over to undo the laces on the corset; once Harry managed to get out of the garment, the lover’s found themselves lying in each other’s arms once again.

“Today wasn’t too bad, was it?” Harry asked, “Mrs. Weasley even made you a jumper.”

“It could have been worse,” Draco conceded, then propped himself up on one elbow to look down at the brunet beside him, “In fact, I propose a new tradition. We can spend Christmas Eve morning with your Weasley’s, and in the evening, you will be my sex slave.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed after a moment, before giving his lover a wicked grin, “In return, we can spend Christmas morning with your family, and that night you will be my sex slave.”

“Hmm, I think I can live with that,” Draco returned the grin, before leaning down to kiss his lover, “Now, it isn’t quite midnight yet, which means you still have a few hours left to serve me. You can start by drawing me a bath and arranging a wine tray, followed, I think, by a massage.” Harry rolled his eyes, and started to get up, but Draco stopped him with a hand on his arm. He pulled Harry back down into a kiss, and relaxed against the pillows as the brunet melted into him. Draco lost himself in the press of lips for a minute, then gently but firmly pushed Harry away, pressing one last chaste kiss on his lips.

“Merry Christmas, love,” Draco said.

“Merry Christmas,” Harry replied.


End file.
